This invention relates to a silicon integrated circuit having two Schottky diodes parallel connected back-to-back for signal limiting and more particularly to such a device having wire bonding termination pads for connection of the back-to-back diodes across a pair of signal transmitting lines.
It is known to use a junction diode for clamping and limiting the voltage transmitted to the input of a sensitive amplifier or the like to prevent noise spikes or other large signals from saturating or otherwise disturbing the normal small signal handling capability of the amplifier. However, junction diodes store charge while in a state of forward conduction, limiting their turn-off speed.
It is an object of this invention to provide a low cost high speed bipolar signal limiting component.